man, but we are obviously living in the age
of beetles." I figured the least I could do was
learn a little more about them, both in their
own right and as representatives of all the
overlooked, small creatures that together run
the ecosystems that sustain us.
Soon I had met beetles that move through
water by walking on the underside of the sur
face as though it were a glass ceiling and beetles
that jet ski on top with the aid of compounds
spritzed from their abdomens; beetles that
wander ice fields deep in caves, stilt-legged
and blind; beetles that live in beaver fur and
others high in falcon nests. I came upon beetles
whose young rear up and chirrup, begging for
food like baby birds, and dazzlingly iridescent
beetles worn as jewelry.
There are beetles that resemble bird drop
pings, the better to catch flies; beetles that
shape manure into balls and roll them along
the ground to store as food; and smaller beetles
that lay their eggs on those dung balls. I saw
beetles so big that early collectors knocked
them out of the air by firing shotguns loaded
with sand and beetles so small they hitchhike
on the mouthparts of bees. There are even bee
tles that make their way into museums and
devour beetle collections.
N TERMS OF SHEER VARIETY, beetles may be
the greatest success story in the long history
of life. The obvious question is why, and the
answer begins with their defining character
istic: the hard case known as the elytra that
covers the wings and abdomen like two halves
of a shell. Ancestors of beetles had two sets
of wings, like dragonflies, and are thought to
have lived mainly on the ground and under
bark. Subject to constant wear and tear, the
forewings evolved into thick covers for the
rear pair, protecting them against abrasion
and predators. Over time, these covers grew
stronger and more streamlined until beetles
became rambling fortresses.
As the wing covers evolved to fit together
more compactly, they helped trap moist
air around the wings folded underneath.
This allowed beetles to expand into desert
regions, where they have flourished ever
since. The same ability to store air beneath
DOUGLAS H. CHADWICK and MARK W. MOFFETT, both
frequent contributors, often cover the world's wild
places and creatures.
Family reunion:
Having fled the heat
of the Arizona desert,
ladybird beetles mass
in the cool heights
of Mount Lemmon
outside Tucson. Also
known as ladybugs,
these beetles are
voracious predators
of aphids. Collectors
sell them in bulk to
gardeners for pest
control. Beetles are
both enemy and
friend to agriculture.
Some species devas
tate crops; others
attack the attackers,
reducing the need for
chemical pesticides.
their elytra lets other beetles live underwater.
We usually think of the Mesozoic in terms of
dinosaurs. But the truly colossal event during
that era, which occurred between 245 and 65
million years ago, was the origin and spread of
flowering plants-an explosion of fragrance
and color that transformed the globe. Beetles
probably fueled it, for they were the premier
pollinators among insects at the time. Then, as
now, the majority of beetles relied on leaves,
roots, wood, fungi, or plant debris for food.
New forms of vegetation meant new oppor
tunities, and these armored insects proliferated
into a superabundance of forms.
This welter of different beetles confused me
at first, but there still lives in me a ten-year-old
glad for an excuse to chase the likes of toads
and bugs again, the weirder the better. So I
looked forward to stalking species in places like
Panama, where I found myself in a lowland
forest one night with several researchers. We
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, MARCH 1998